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Series Recap: Blue Jays take two of three from Angels to win first series in April
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Photo credit: © William Liang-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Apr 23, 2026, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 22, 2026, 20:38 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays have finally won a series.
Although they dropped two of three in the weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, they finished on a high-note by scoring eight runs in the first inning on Sunday. Following a bus ride from Phoenix to Los Angeles, the Blue Jays began a series with the Los Angeles Angels.
It was in Anaheim where things started to turn around last season, winning the final game of the series, then proceeding to sweep the Seattle Mariners. This series started better than last seasons, to say the least.
In Monday’s game, the Angels took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Jays got on the board in the top of the third, as Davis Schneider walked and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his second home run of the season. In the bottom half of the third, the Angels tied it.
The game held sway until the top of the sixth. Guerrero Jr. and Eloy Jiménez hit back-to-back singles to put two runs on. After Kazuma Okamoto moved Guerrero Jr. to third with a ground out, Lenyn Sosa hit a sacrifice fly to restore the Blue Jays’ lead. In the seventh, Myles Straw drew a lead-off walk, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and was driven in thanks to a Nathan Lukes single. 
They scored a similar run in the top of the ninth, Straw got on base with a single, moved to second on a passed ball, then got another 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt by Tyler Heineman again. Finally, Lukes drove him in with a ground out. Jeff Hoffman struck out the side, giving the Jays a 5-2 victory. Dylan Cease struck out 12 in five innings of work, with the Blue Jays striking out 18 batters in total.
The Blue Jays were looking for their second series win and second three-game winning streak heading into Tuesday’s game. Once again, the Angels scored first, but the Jays responded in the top of the sixth thanks to back-to-back singles by Guerrero Jr. and Jesús Sánchez. With runners on the corners, Jiménez drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly.
In the top of the eighth, Ernie Clement hit a one-out double, and Guerrero Jr. was intentionally walked. With a lefty on the mound, Sosa pinch-hit for Sánchez and proceeded to hit a two-run double to make it 3-1. Jiménez drove in pinch-runner Davis Schneider with a single.
Things got hairy in the bottom of the ninth, as the Angels loaded the bases after a strikeout, a single, and two HBP. Hoffman was replaced by Louis Varland, who needed just one pitch to get a game-winning double play.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jays couldn’t complete the sweep in Wednesday afternoon’s game. Coming into this game, Angels’ starter José Soriano allowed just 11 hits over his first five starts. The Jays had seven hits, but weren’t able to cash in any runs. At the same time, the Angels scored their first run in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly, followed by a fourth inning home run from Nolan Schanuel and a fifth inning home run courtesy of Mike Trout.
Soriano eventually left the game, giving him a 0.24 ERA so far this season. The Jays didn’t get anything in the top of the sixth, but scored three runs to knot the game up in the top of the seventh. That last one half inning, as the Angels scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh in a 7-3 victory.
Lauer didn’t pitch great in Wednesday afternoon’s game, allowing three earned runs in five innings of work. Once again, his velocity was down. There’s a solid argument that Patrick Corbin, who allowed one hit in his five innings on Tuesday, deserves to be in the rotation over Lauer at this point. 
Reinforcements will be with the Blue Jays sooner rather than later, as Trey Yesavage started for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Tuesday. José Berríos also made his second rehab start on Wednesday evening. So a decision will need to be made in the coming weeks. Thankfully, the bats seem to be waking up.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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